Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology refers to passive smart tags (miniature antenna-containing tags requiring no internal power supply) that may be embedded in or attached to a product or material to convey information that may be read by a scanner. Generally, conductive or passive smart tags include a data circuit and an antenna. In particular, smart tags include a semiconductor, a coiled, etched, or stamped antenna, a capacitor, and a substrate on which the components are mounted or embedded. A protective covering is typically used to encapsulate and seal the substrate.
In general, RFID systems include readers and tags in which the tags generate an electromagnetic response to an electronic signal from a reader. The response signal is read by the reader, typically with a readable range on the order of a few feet, though broader or narrower ranges are possible. The signal generated by the tag includes information (e.g., an electronic product code) that identifies the tag or the article comprising the tag.
RFID tags are expected to become ubiquitous in future products, and are already being implemented in some supply chains for tracking products. However, existing systems do not use RFID tags to ensure the proper loading or orientation of products and packaging. There is a need for a system using RFID tags to detect the loading and orientation of products.
Further, a major roadblock to the commercial implementation of RFID technology has been consumer privacy. Public fears about the potential misuse of the information that could be obtained by tracking purchases with RFID have resulted in delays in several efforts to implement RFID. Standards for product tagging from the Auto-ID Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology call for chips to have a switch that can be activated by a code to kill the tag. Killing the tag generally refers to deactivating the microchip itself or at least removing or erasing a portion of the data stored in the tag (e.g., an electronic product code). However, killing the tag may eliminate all or some of the functionality and the benefits that can be obtained through RFID technology (e.g., consumer benefits such as automated registration of products, automated interactions of other articles with the purchased items, consumer tracking and cataloging of purchased articles using RFID systems, and automated safety systems). There is a need for systems and methods that deactivate an RFID tag mechanically and reversibly while retaining the consumer benefits associated with RFID technology.
Further, there have been many efforts to protect consumers from product tampering. To date, however, the onus for detecting tampering has generally been on the consumer who bears the responsibility for checking the integrity of containers or the presence of indications of tampering such as whether a pop-up section of a bottle lid has popped-up or not. Many consumers are not trained in detecting tampering or fail to recognize that an indicator for tampering has been activated. In some cases, a tamperer can simply remove the indicating device or indicia. In general, for most products, there have not been successful methods brought to the marketplace for automatically detecting tampering and eliminating tampered products before the product is sold to the consumer. Thus, there is a need for improved systems providing tamper-evident packaging with automated detection of tampering.
Some existing systems include RFID-enabled labels that can detect damage or removal of the label, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2004/0066296 entitled “A Tamper Indicating Radio Frequency Identification Label with Tracking Capability” by Peter Atherton and assigned to Mikoh Corporation. This technology includes “COUNTERFOIL” smart labels that emit a signal when the labels are removed or broken. The labels have breakable conductive leads to RFID circuits. Tampering with the labels disables the RFID circuit or can be detected by circuitry that causes a particular code to be written to the RFID chip. For example, the use of RFID technology in this manner detects tampering with electricity meter boxes associated with electricity theft. The existing technology, however, is based on single RFID tag systems in labels in which the tag is permanently disabled by tampering or in which tampering causes a new code to be written to an expensive writable RFID tag. Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods that use two or more RFID chips or two or more antennae to allow deactivation of one RFID signal and activation of another RFID signal to retain the consumer benefits of RFID technology.